Is it better to sell before you buy?
Selling your home first, then looking for a new one is less stressful and risky than buying and selling at the same time.
Selling first means you have freed up any equity and have a good idea of your budget for your next home. You’re also a cash buyer and will have an advantage over anyone who is making an offer conditional on selling their own property. If you can negotiate a long settlement period when you sell, you’ll have more time to find your next property without having to rent or move twice.
Renting or storing belongings between moving out of one home and into another will add to your costs. It may also be time consuming finding and moving to temporary accommodation and potentially disruptive, especially for children.
If you’ve already found your next home and need to sell your current home to finance it, you can make your offer to buy conditional on selling your home. If the seller accepts your offer with that condition, you’ll have time to sell your home within the time-frame set out in the condition. Sellers are likely to find unconditional offers more attractive, so consider this before deciding whether to sell your own home first.
You can talk to your bank or lender about bridging finance, which is a short-term home loan that can help you purchase a new property before your existing home is sold. There is a risk of more bridging finance debt than you planned if your sale takes longer than expected or if you get less than you hoped when you sell your house. If it takes longer to sell your existing home than expected, you may find yourself owning two properties for a while with the associated home loan, insurance and rates costs to pay.
Poll: Have you ever had a scary flight?
A plane flying from Christchurch to Wellington on Sunday had smoke billowing out of the engine and upon landing, passengers had to open the emergency exit and jump out. Have you had any scary flying experiences?
-
56.5% Yes!
-
43.5% No, it's always been smooth flying
ALEXANDER ROAD SPEED LIMIT
Alexander Road in Trentham-Wallaceville of which 50% separates a golf course from a military encampment enclosure and the rest has mostly high fenced off industrial and residential areas on both sides, should have a 70km speed restriction.
Only a short time ago the road had a 80km restriction and was reduced to a pedestrian 50km much to the frustration of many. It has never been an accident prone stretch of road.
The several round-abouts ensure speed is reduced to 30-40km when these things occur.
I recently stayed a few days in Feilding - often given the title of the best town in NZ - and one of the lengthy main streets has a 70km speed restriction despite a predominance of unfenced residential properties on both sides.
LIVE Q&A: Financial well-being with Cat Rikihana
Today (Wednesday) we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with Cat Rikihana who is a financial mentor, educator and financial capability practitioner at Financial Freedom Trust in the Manawatū.
Cat Rikihana (Ngai Tahu) like many financial mentors around Aotearoa, works with individuals, groups and whānau to successfully navigate financial stress and hardship. Mentors work alongside whānau to increase confidence and skills in personal money management and advocate with and for clients. Cat enjoys delivering online and face-to-face workshops which provide opportunities to normalise money conversations and encourages people to make time to consider their financial well-being.
Cat is also an independent financial well-being coach, educator and indigenous life coach at Restore Wellness Network. She is a published writer and currently in the process of writing her first non-fiction book: 'A financial self-care guide for women in Aotearoa.'
She'd love to answer any questions you may have around your budgeting and spending habits, strategies for saving, retirement planning and debt. (Don't be shy, but be mindful about what you disclose!)
↓ Share your questions now and Cat will reply to your comment below ↓
Loading…
